This article by Claire Fox seems a useful starting point for some reflections on the burka row. First a quick note on my own reaction to Johnson’s comments. They slotted in quite neatly to some distinctions around discussions of this topic which I briefly sketched in a recent piece on anti-Muslim bigotry: Vulgar and harsh comments about what an individual woman is wearing, assumptions about her views and motives, are one thing – but a reasoned critique of modesty codes (and some of those writing these will be Muslim women themselves) quite another Clearly Johnson’s comparisons with letterboxes and bank robbers were by no means at the crudest and most…

Ian Paisley MP has been widely condemned for retweeting a typically nasty statement from Katie Hopkins. (He subsequently deleted it.) Here’s just one response. The DUP has issued a statement condemning the retweet. “He has subsequently removed it. The original tweet was totally inappropriate and the DUP deplores its sentiments. The Party Officers will consider this matter at their next meeting. Update. Paisley has now apologised.

Number Ten responded swiftly to Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim material from extremist Britain First: “Britain First seeks to divide communities by their use of hateful narratives that peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people. “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents, decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this.” However White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, seems either oblivious or indifferent to the problem. Rather than apologising for the error she sought to justify Trump: “The threat is real,” Ms. Sanders said. “The threat needs to be…

RIP Ricky John Best, 53, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, who were stabbed to death by a white supremacist in Oregon when they tried to intervene to stop him from shouting anti-Muslim abuse at two young women on a train.

In recent evidence submitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee, the BoD affirms its strong opposition to anti-Muslim bigotry, and its commitment to joint work on tackling hate crime: While antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred differ significantly in their histories and manifestations, we recognise that efforts to tackle both will only reach their full potential when minority communities including Jews and Muslims work in partnership. In the past the BoD has opposed the Swiss minaret ban and distanced itself from the EDL’s pro-Israel stance. More recently it has spoken out agsinst Kelvin Mackenzie’s attack on Channel 4 news presenter Fatima Manji and of course against the travel bans imposed by Trump.…

Further to the post re the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) adding Maajid Nawaz to the list of “anti Muslim extremists” here’s a round up of the lazy or malicious mis-readings by the SPLC and some counter arguments. The SPLC though has dug in. They have read a couple of Guardian posts, one written by that creepy undercover cop Bob Lambert and know Nawaz must be an anti-Muslim extremist. They even think Nawaz attending a strip club on his stag night makes him an anti-Muslim extremist (that’s half the male British population on a watch list then). This of course is incredible to anyone who has read anything by Nawaz,…

In conjunction with the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week: A real thing that is going to actually happen in the real world. pic.twitter.com/hlA4TfnrqP — Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) July 13, 2016 Pam Geller (depicted on the right), co-founder of Stop Islamization of America, once referred to the authors of Harry’s Place as “these proud Jew-hater boys.” Milo Yiannopoulos (left), a dirtbag who sometimes claims to be Jewish, goes around to college campuses doing some sort of extreme-right performance-art shtick. He wrote: Most of the Generation Trump, the Alt-Right people, the people who like me, they’re not anti-Semites. They don’t care about Jews. I mean, they may have some assumptions…

Shami Chakrabarti, who has recently joined the Labour Party, is the Chair of its Independent Inquiry into Antisemitism. The scope of the Inquiry has been expanded to include other forms of racism, and Islamophobia. It is perfectly possible to oppose the actions or political beliefs of Zionist organisations and Israeli politicians, or the conduct of the Israeli Government without resorting to conspiracism and bigotry. However, when the line is crossed, and those criticisms become tinged with antisemitism, it is right that action be taken. The same is true of criticism of Islamist organisations, politicians, and Muslim-majority countries. It would be shocking to discover that a Labour councillor or activist were…

After London’s new mayor Sadiq Khan pointed out that he would be unable to visit the United States under Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the country “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” Trump responded: “There will always be exceptions.” Khan, to his great credit, told Trump to shove it. “This isn’t just about me – it’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world.” He added: “Donald Trump’s ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe – it risks alienating mainstream Muslims around the world…

This is a guest post from The Rambling Infidel “No idea is above scrutiny and no people are beneath dignity” – Maajid Nawaz We live in turbulent and scary times. The forces of Jihadism are running riot all around the world, spreading murder and mayhem in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Indonesia, Nigeria and France. This coinciding with the recent, but worrying trend of endemic sexual violence all across Europe commited by migrants/refugees coming into Europe mostly from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. This has made the tragedy of the refugee crisis and dealing with the issues that come with unprecedented levels of international migration even more diffcult, because if you…